Black tea is the most intensively processed type of tea. The leaves are allowed to fully oxidize, creating their black color before they are dried, giving black tea more complexity, more astringency and fewer vegetal overtones than are typically found in other teas. Astringency is the "dry mouth" sensation left by tannins in tea, familiar to drinkers of a cabernet sauvignon, or other wine. It is this astringency that pairs so nicely with dairy and sweetener. Achieving the right balance of astringency is one of the leading indicators of quality in a black tea.

The category of China dark tea is shrouded in mystery. They are almost never seen in the West. Dark teas from Hunan Province steep up medium-bodied, very smooth, and usually with a natural sweet note as opposed to the dark earthiness of puer. Technically, dark tea is a tea that has gone through a secondary fermentation process. Like puer, dark teas age well and are probiotic.Traditionally, all dark teas are rinsed with hot water, then are made with boiling water and steeped a short time (1-5 minutes), but they can be steeped much longer for a much stronger brew.

Green Tea, best known for its grassy vegetal notes and greenish liquor and leaves, is quickly steamed or pan-fired to denature the oxidizing enzymes and preserve the tea's characteristic freshness. While all tea is antioxidant-rich, some speculate that the minimal processing undergone by green tea allows more antioxidants to reach your final cup. Without oxidation, green teas must be steeped more carefully, as they can become bitter if steeped too long or at too hot of a temperature. Never steep green tea with boiling water; near boiling or even cooler will produce much better results.

The oolongs are a first cousin once removed from the black teas. Oolong tea is partially oxidized to lie somewhere between black and green. While the look is more along the lines of black teas, the taste is closer to the green teas but with a touch more oomph and a rounded mouthfeel. Oolongs are commonly produced in the Fujian province of China and on the island of Taiwan, formerly called Formosa, from which one of the more famous oolong teas is named.

Why add flavoring to top quality teas? As with black tea and milk or sugar, flowers were added to green tea originally to disguise a less than favorable taste in the poorer varieties. This is still the case with many commercially produced flower teas, which hide the taste of very cheap tea behind a strong flowery presence. However, just as Earl Grey black tea infused with Bergamot oil came to represent some of the finest tea made in the west, Chinese varieties can also be found combining really fine quality teas with a subtle but distinct flavor.

While white teas are "less processed" than greens, they are usually somewhat more oxidized. Mild oxidation occurs during the "wilting" stage, when white tea is air-dried after it is first picked. White tea is then baked and dried further, and it may be very lightly rolled, but little is done to change what was picked from the plant. One way to tell that white tea is slightly oxidized is that white teas don't usually need to be steeped as carefully as greens. Steeping white tea with boiling water or for longer time periods can still produce good results.

Yellow tea is a speciality of Anhui, Sichuan and Hunan provinces in China. It is one of the rarest types of tea, with long, slow production giving it a mellower, sweeter and riper flavour than green tea, as well as a refreshing cool feeling that lingers in the throat.

YiXing (pronounced ee-shing) teapots have long been known in China for their simple beauty and unique tea brewing qualities, but are relatively unheard of in the United States and the rest of the world. YiXing.com brings these distinctive teapots to the internet and thus to a worldwide audience.